Members

Stoke-on-Trent City Council

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is the local authority for the city of Stoke-on-Trent, covering Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton, Stoke and Tunstall.

Updated:

13 November 2017

Location:

West Midlands

Sectors:

Care, Local Authorities

Local Alliances:

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Dementia Action Alliance

1. Action Plan

1. The National Dementia Declaration lists seven outcomes that the DAA are seeking to achieve for people with dementia and their carers. How would you describe your organisation’s role in delivering better outcomes for people with dementia and their carers?

1. The National Dementia Declaration lists a number of outcomes that we are seeking to achieve for people with dementia and their carers. How would you describe your organisation’s role in delivering better outcomes for people with dementia and their carers?

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is a member of the Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire Dementia Steering Group. The group provides the local steer for commissioning services against the National Dementia Strategy and its members include health partners, social care, voluntary sector, service users and carers with the aim of improving the well-being and support for people affected by a diagnosis of dementia.

There are several sub-groups that report into the steering group. One of the sub-groups that the local authority is a member of is the Dementia Awareness and Communication Group. The group has developed a Communication Strategy.

The aims and key objectives are to:

Help increase public understanding and awareness of dementia in order to increase early diagnosisHelp individuals and families make decisions about their support and treatment optionsHelp support health professionals to provide good communications and signposting to individuals and their carers and familiesEnsure key messages around dementia are consistent, relevant and timely

Dementia is a high priority of the council’s Shadow Health and Wellbeing Board. In Stoke-on-Trent we recognise the caring role to be a vital one, particularly those who are caring for someone living with dementia. We offer carers assessments to ensure that carer’s needs are identified and that they feel supported in their caring role.

In Stoke we commission a wide range of services to support people with dementia and their carers.

The council works alongside health colleagues to ensure that support for people with dementia and their carers is a priority and informs future commissioning intentions.

2. What are the challenges to delivering these outcomes from the perspective of your organisation?

A key challenge is ensuring all staff across health, social care, voluntary sector, acute settings, residential/ nursing care and staff delivering support in the community are fully competent and skilled in providing the highest level of care and support to people with dementia and their carers. We deliver a wide range of training packages for various stakeholders including carers themselves. The uptake of the training is positive but barriers that we encounter are that at times staff/professionals (who are not mental health specialists) see dementia as a specialism and rely on input/ support from specialist mental health services/ professionals for interventions that they should be confident and skilled to deliver themselves and should be core competencies in their own roles. The key challenge is to change the culture and ensure that all staff/ organisations are confident and skilled in delivering ‘person centred’ care and support and raise the quality of care delivered through up skilling all staff.

Key challenges also include engaging members of community, organisations and business in Stoke-on-Trent to sign up to the Dementia Action Alliance and raise awareness of how we can all work together to improve the lives of people with dementia and their carers. We have nominated a few local companies who we wanted to engage with in ‘The Call to Action’ but a number of them have been reluctant to participate. The challenge is to ensure that our Dementia Awareness Campaign is robust and effective and to gain the commitment, interest and support from people living and working in Stoke-on-Trent

Member contacts

Member website

2. Actions

Developing joint strategy for dementia

Across Stoke-on-Trent, we are in the process of developing our joint strategy for dementia as our existing strategy expires this year. We have an action and implementation plan which set out our plans to achieve the best possible outcomes against the objectives of the NDS for people with dementia and their carers. We also have a Joint Carers Strategy and a Carers Health Strategy.

Some of the key objectives and plans are listed below. Each strategy also has a fully comprehensive action and implementation plan.

Status:

Completed

2016 - First Quarter Update

In partnership with health, voluntary sector and community organisations the Stoke-on-Trent Joint Dementia Strategy has now been developed by Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Stoke-on-Trent Clinical Commissioning Group. Following public consultation the strategy has been amended and a strategic delivery plan developed.

As a result the actions on our Dementia Action Alliance action plan will shortly be amended to align with the draft strategy and delivery plan.

1. Reviewing our existing memory clinic service

Reviewing our existing memory clinic service to understand how it can be improved and developed further to provide the best service for people - which is responsive, timely and able to meet future demand/ capacity and provides people with the right information and support.

Status:

Completed

2016 - First Quarter Update

An initial review was completed and actions implemented. Ensuring access to a timely diagnosis is a priority within our joint dementia strategy and the relevant actions identified are being led on by Stoke-on-Trent Clinical Commissioning Group.

2. Increase awareness and education within primary care

Increase awareness and education within primary care and continue to work with GPs on developing and implementing our ‘Best Practice Guidelines for GPs on Dementia’ and how they can help to increase diagnosis rates and early identification to enable people to get the right support and timely interventions.

As at June 2017:

We have developed a comprehensive checklist for GP surgeries, with input from a GP surgery who were interested in becoming more dementia friendly to support their patients and carers. This checklist consisted of guidance around care planning, environment, consultation and the needs of carers. A number of practices who have now held dementia friends sessions and have either joined, or are in the process of joining, the Dementia Action Alliance, have adopted this checklist. The CCG have used social media to advertise for more GP practices to come forward to pursue working towards becoming more dementia friendly.

Status:

Delivery

2017 - First Quarter Update

Best Practice Guidelines for GPs have been implemented and have been identified on the Dementia Strategy Strategic Delivery Plan for review.

A GP dementia education awareness event was held in October 2014.

In partnership with Stoke-on-Trent Clinical Commissioning Group, we are working with a number of GP practices to encourage them to join the Dementia Action Alliance and to become Dementia Friendly. A Dementia Friendly GP Practice Checklist has been developed to support practices wishing to become more dementia friendly. Currently we are working with 4 practices across the City.

3. Work with our colleages in the voluntary, private and independent sector

Work with our colleagues within the voluntary, private and independent sector to implement the ‘Dementia Awareness Campaign and our Stoke-on-Trent City and North Staffordshire Communication Strategy’ to help raise public and professional awareness of dementia and provide training and education.

Status:

Delivery

2017 - First Quarter Update

June 2017 update:

Dementia Steering Group meetings continue to be held on a bi-monthly basis with good attendance. Membership has grown and Terms of Reference have been reviewed and updated. A number of task and finish groups have been established to take forward key priority areas such as: transport (buses and taxis), hospitals, GP practices, schools and education and local businesses and supermarkets, leisure - including parks, museums, cinemas, theatres etc, leisure centres. Members of the Steering Group are representatives of Health, local authority, clinical commissioning group, combined healthcare and voluntary sector partners, together with service user and carer involvement and contribution.

Transport - meetings held with two local bus companies, from which a group of employees have had dementia friends session. Discussions now continuing with a view to introducing some mandatory dementia awareness training into bus drivers' continuous professional development training. Meetings held with two local taxi companies, one of whom has had a dementia friends session for their drivers, the other has disseminated detailed information on dementia to their drivers.

Schools - we are now engaging with a number of local schools (primary and high schools) who are embarking on introducing dementia into their curriculum. Three local schools have signed up to the DAA and a number of others are in the early stages of doing this. Feedback to date has been very positive.

Businesses and supermarkets - work continues to engage local businesses, some of whom have been directly approached, others have approached us for support and guidance. Two local renowned potteries firms are engaging with us in taking this forward. Local branch of Tesco supported with having the Dementia Bus on site. Other supermarkets have provided refreshments for dementia awareness raising events held locally.

Hospitals - a programme has been rolled out to engage all staff in dementia friends sessions to increase awareness. "Butterfly" scheme introduced on wards which helps identify anyone who is living with dementia. Hospital have reviewed menus and now offer finger food and alternative options to aid and support dietary intake. Hospital have now developed and signed off their own internal Dementia Strategy.

Leisure - several local theatres have been engaging with us to become more dementia friendly and work is ongoing with them. Some local leisure centres, a rugby club, swimming baths and libraries have become dementia friendly.

Three dementia events were held in 2016 to raise awareness and support people with concerns about their memory or following diagnosis and their carers. Partner organisations participated to highlight services available for people. Some people living with dementia and their carers participated in the planning of these events and helped shape them with their ideas and suggestions. A Carers' Event is planned in June and specialist organisations (both statutory and voluntary) who support people with dementia are also participating in this event.

2016 - First Quarter Update

Work has been on-going with organisations over the last 18 months to implement the National Dementia Awareness Campaign at a local level. This has included working with organisations during Dementia Awareness Week 2015 with representation made at two local markets.

In March 2015 a public event was held as part of the consultation on the Dementia strategy delivered in partnership with Stoke CCG and local service providers. The event involved information sharing on local dementia services, and a Dementia Friends Session was held prior to the event.

At the end of 2014 we worked with organisations across the city to join the recognition process to become a dementia friendly community and have consulted locally about how we could make Stoke more dementia friendly to ensure that we are focusing on what is important locally and since October 2015 we have also established a dementia friendly communities working group to take forward this work.

A communications plan has also been developed in partnership with Dementia Steering Group and wider partners to shape the awareness raising activities required in the city.

4. Continue to work with the voluntary sector to develop and deliver services

Continue to work with the voluntary sector to develop and deliver services that support people with dementia to live well. Develop peer support networks and support the voluntary sector and independent providers to deliver respite care

Status:

Delivery

2017 - First Quarter Update

This area of work continues to develop and we are actively working with voluntary sector organisations who offer and deliver services for people living with dementia and their carers. These organisations are actively involved in the Steering Group, the DAA, the task and finish groups and events to raise awareness and understanding of dementia and offer support where required. Work is ongoing to continue to review, develop and deliver, and offer high quality support services to meet the needs of people living with dementia and their carers.

2016 - First Quarter Update

Work is on-going with the voluntary sector and a key priority of the dementia strategy is to ensure access to high quality support services, This work is being undertaken as part of our Dementia strategy delivery plan.

5. Work with our residential and nursing homes to improve quality of care

Work with our residential and nursing homes to improve the quality of care and continue to educate and provide training around reducing the inappropriate use of anti-psychotic medication and use of alternative approaches.

Status:

Completed

2016 - First Quarter Update

The primary care liaison team has been developed and is working with residential and nursing care homes to provide more support to people living with dementia in care homes and support and training to care homes. This support is on-going.

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6. Roll out our EoL education and training project

Roll out our EoL education and training project - bespoke training packages to residential/ nursing care providers to enable them to identify and plan with individuals and their carers their palliative care needs.

Status:

Delivery

2017 - First Quarter Update

A programme of education and training was delivered to residential and nursing homes which encompassed understanding care planning and end of life needs and requirements. A local hospice delivered this training through their training and development team and the training was tailored to meet the individual needs and requirements of each home/setting accordingly.

The local hospice, along with Dementia UK, have now appointed an Admiral Nurse to support the continued work in this area.

2016 - First Quarter Update

This work is planned to be taken forward as part of the Dementia Strategy Delivery Plan.

7. Continue to improve support and services for people with suspected or known dementia

Continue to improve support and services for people with suspected or known dementia using acute and community hospitals (inpatient services or emergency departments) and ensuring that they have access to a liaison service specialising in the diagnosis

Status:

Delivery

2016 - First Quarter Update

The local health economy must have liaison in place by 2020 and the Clinical Commissioning Group are working toward this with all partners.

Roll out Dementia Friends Session throughout the council

To deliver Dementia Friends Sessions to council employees

Status:

Delivery

2017 - First Quarter Update

Community Wellbeing teams have now all received dementia awareness training. Dementia Friends sessions continue to be promoted. Work is progressing with our civil enforcement teams. Various commissioning teams have attended a dementia friends session and work is continuing to promote this opportunity and sessions arranged accordingly to wider groups and teams at the council.

2016 - First Quarter Update

Dementia Friends Sessions have been held for local councillors, a number of senior managers.

Sessions have been held with our library staff and learning disability teams.